Govt to issue disability certificates to people with special needs: Gehlot

Gehlot said the draft of Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill , 2014, which has already been approved by a committee, led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, has been sent to the PMO for consultation. 

The minister expressed confidence that the Bill would be passed by Parliament during the Monsoon session.

“A new provision has been added to the draft Bill, which entails that the disability certificate issued will be valid across India,” he said as he felicitated the beneficiaries of the ministry’s various schemes.

“The government is considering a proposal to increase the number of categories of physical disability from 7 to 19 so that more people can avail benefits of government schemes,” Gehlot said, addressing a felicitation programme of beneficiaries on 'Schemes of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities'.

The Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, which makes accessibility mandatory will replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

“We are conducting a survey in all states to collect a data on the number of disabled persons living there. The work is being carried out through government-affiliated organisations and NGOs. All state governments have been asked to co-operate with the Centre. Responses from Maharashtra, Rajasthan and MP have been optimistic,” he told Millennium Post.

He added: “Earlier, a budget of Rs 125 crore was sanctioned for the welfare of divyang. But this time, we have appealed to the Finance Ministry to increase the budget to Rs 151 crore. About 4,40,000 people have benefitted from the schemes so far.”